


Could've Asked You

by sonictrowel



Series: Long Night in the Blue House [21]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Mush, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-10-12 22:06:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10500384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonictrowel/pseuds/sonictrowel
Summary: “You think you did this for me?” she asked.“Well, I’ve definitely been fiddling about with things down here, and you know for special occasions I like to take you to interesting places.”“You like to take me to romantic places,” she corrected, beaming at him.“Fine,” he admitted, his smile spreading into a grin, “romantic ones.  Being stuck on a planet with only one of those just wouldn’t do.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> I love you, wonderful readers!! We are fast approaching the end of the first story arc here, but in the meantime, some fluff.

River was digging through the wardrobe, discarding every option she picked up, when there was a knock at the bedroom door.  “Back here!” she called, lifting her black catsuit and considering it sceptically.

A moment later Milly appeared in the doorway, paging through the thick binder that held the latest draft of her dissertation.  

“Hey, Professor, just looking for Mr. Song.  I keep coming back to this bit in the history of the Arquess, and I’ve got the strangest feeling…”

“He’s in the bath.  It’s not a good wizard again, is it?”

“Nah, bit late for wizards, but there _was_ a reference to a magician.”

River chuckled.  “Oh, it’s actually _him_.  Careful, he might've not done it yet.”

“Oh, good point.”

River tried not to dwell on the thought of “after _,”_ and kept rifling through her clothes.  “He’s taking me out for our anniversary, but evidently I have to wear trousers and lace-ups.”

Milly snorted.  “Sounds romantic.  Where’re you going?”

“I’ve a few ideas, but it’s meant to be a surprise.  Now, clearly I don’t mind an adventurous date night, but it does put a bit of a damper on the celebratory mood when the dress code is so very dull.”

“Wait, it’s a surprise?  So you’re letting him drive your car?”

“Well, it _is_ a car, not a time machine.  I suppose just this once I can let him have his fun.”

Milly grinned.  “You’ve gone soft, Professor.”

River winked at her.  “Don’t tell dad.”  She pulled another hanger.  “I suppose jodhpurs will have to do.  What do you think of these?”

Milly blinked for a moment before focussing on the trousers.  “Oh, yeah.  Practical but they’re nice.”

“I suppose I can bring the nanobot spritzer in case a wardrobe change becomes feasible at some point.”

“Mm.”

“How’s the review going?” River asked, sensing she’d lost Milly’s attention with the fashion talk.  “Feeling ready for your defence next month?”

Milly perked up immediately.  “Yeah, your last notes were great.  I think it’s pretty solid but, well, bit nervous I guess,” she laughed.  “I’m sure everyone is.”

“You’ll be brilliant,” River said firmly, squeezing her shoulder.

“Thanks.  I hope so.”

“Best get going though, before him indoors emerges.”

“Oh, right,” she said, flashing River a smile and darting out of the wardrobe.

River sighed.  Time was positively flying by, which was odd, since for once in her life, time actually _was_ completely constant.  But more and more it felt like a flood, gaining strength and speed and carrying her, powerless, along with it.  They were still only a little more than half way through the long night, but every year seemed to move faster than the last, especially this one, their last year with Milly.

Well, it wouldn’t do to get stuck in her head before they went on their date, which she had every intention of enjoying to the fullest.  She really had gone soft, with the way she was letting things affect her.  She’d been much better at ignoring her own feelings when she had been so practised at hiding them.  But all in all, the benefits of honesty were well worth the price.

She dropped her dressing gown and pulled on her jodhpurs before flicking through the hangers again in search of a top that was practical, but with adequate décolletage.  That wasn’t too hard to find in her collection, actually.

She’d just finished dressing when the Doctor came in, wavy silver hair flopping into his face and still dripping water.  (He’d finally mentioned the other day that he probably needed a haircut, and she’d trimmed it for him, just to make sure he didn’t get carried away and cut it _too_ short.)  His towel hung low on his hips.

“Darling,” she drawled appreciatively, “if that’s what you’re wearing, I’m afraid I’m overdressed.”

He raised an eyebrow.  “At least take me to dinner before you try and get in my trousers.”  He immediately contradicted his own words by leaning in to kiss her, his damp skin still soft and steamy-hot.

“You’ve left a rather obvious loophole there when you haven’t got any trousers on,” she said against his lips, pushing his wet fringe back from his forehead.

He moved in closer and deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist, his body radiating heat as it pressed up against hers.  River’s mind emptied of everything but his soft bare skin under her hands and his wonderfully talented tongue, until suddenly he pulled back, giving her one last sweet, fleeting kiss before walking farther into the wardrobe.  

“Dinner first, dear,” he said lightly.

Flushed and more than a little wound up, River stared him down with a predatory grin.  “You’ll pay for that later, sweetie.”

“Looking forward to it,” he said, staring right back at her with a mischievous smile that _did things_ to her insides.  

Of course, she was entirely responsible for creating this monster, however many hundreds of years ago.  She really should pat herself on the back for that more often.

The Doctor went and put on a waistcoat and suit.  At least she was marginally more dressed for the occasion than she had been on their wedding night, but then, neither of them had stayed dressed for very long that night anyway.

He had her stay in the bedroom while he packed the boot of the car, then returned and offered her his hand, pulling her up from where she was sat at the end of the bed.

“Ready, love?” he asked with a smile.

“Always,” she replied, deliberately eyeing him up and down.

He quirked a brow at her and she took his arm as they headed for the car, bidding goodnight to Nardole and Milly at the front door.

“Okay,” the Doctor said when he’d slipped into the driver’s seat.  “Two options.  Number one,” he reached in his pocket and pulled out the black cravat she hadn’t seen him wear since their first night on Darillium, and mimed wrapping it around his head like a blindfold.  “If you really want to be surprised,” he smirked.  “Option two, eyes open; you’ll see where we’re going long before we get there, but it’s up to you, dear.”

“Hmm,” River pursed her lips, “I do like the way you think, but if it’s all the same to you, I’ll keep my eyes open, since I can’t actually remember the last time you drove a car.”

He chuckled.  “Fair enough.”

“But I’ll take that.  Might come in handy later.”

He handed the cravat over to her, and she rubbed the fabric between her fingers and thumb, smiling in remembrance, before wrapping it around her hand.  When she looked up the Doctor was smiling too, eyes soft as he watched her.  It took River a moment to remember they had somewhere to be.

“You do know how to start it, don’t you darling?” she finally asked, glancing pointedly at the ignition.

The Doctor blinked.  “Oh.  Right, yeah.  Off we go.”

___

He brought her back to the cavern out in the country.  It was the first time they’d been since the expedition, since for most of the intervening years it was difficult weather for even that brief a trip.  There was quite a lot more green to see now, thanks to the midnight thaw, though deep snowdrifts still remained wherever they hadn’t been cleared.  They were slow to melt, with no real sunlight.  Still, the view made for a very pleasant drive.  When they arrived, the Doctor opened the boot of the car and slipped a rucksack onto his back.

“Well now I see what the trousers were about,” River said, as they helped each other into their harnesses at the cave entrance.

The Doctor smiled.  “You can dress up for me later if you like.”

“Much rather undress,” she said, deciding to bypass innuendo altogether.

He chuckled.  “Forward, aren’t we, Professor Song?”

“Surely you can't be surprised, darling.”

“Well you _do_ always manage to have something up your sleeve.”

“Said the magician.”

Eyes crinkled in amusement, he clicked the last buckle on her harness into place.  “Shall we?”

They abseilled down into the dark this time, with no lights on below, taking it slowly so the ground wouldn’t come up to surprise them.  When their feet touched soil they were in total blackness, apart from their torches, the opening to the faint starlight too far above to illuminate anything on the floor of the cavern.  Their breathing and the sharp click of buckles as they unfastened them were the only sounds, echoing in the warm dark.  As they stepped out of their harnesses, River shone her torch around the cavern, the light glinting off of the crystalline walls.

“Hope you've brought another light source,” she said, glancing toward the faint outline of her husband in the darkness, which she could only really discern because the torch in his hand gave her an idea of where to look.

“I did, but let’s wait for now.  Got something to show you first.”

The Doctor took her hand and they proceeded farther into the cavern.  They passed the former dig site and travelled around the curve of the cave wall, their torches landing on the stone stair carved into the rock.

“The magma room where you found the cooling system?  You did show me this last time, honey,” River said.

“Ah, but there was one thing I left out.”  He led her down onto the stairs and switched off his torch, indicating for her to do the same.  She did so, holding onto his hand in the sudden total darkness.  Then he lifted his sonic, the blue light glowing brightly and the buzzing tone echoing through the tunnel, and the walls came to life.

River gasped as the crystals surrounding them glowed in undulating waves, shining gold and violet and bathing the tunnel in an ever-changing, otherworldly light.

“What is this?” she asked breathlessly, looking around in awe and delight and clinging to him to keep her feet.

“Assuming I’ll figure that part out someday,” the Doctor said, “because— and I don’t know about you— but I’d hazard a guess that this is not naturally occurring.”

“You think you did this for me?” she asked, her gaze falling to meet his.  He was watching her with a soft smile, and in the pulsating colours he looked like something out of a dream.

“Well, I’ve definitely been fiddling about with things down here, and you know for special occasions I like to take you to interesting places.”

“You like to take me to _romantic_ places,” she corrected, beaming at him.

“Fine,” he admitted, his smile spreading into a grin, “romantic ones.  Being stuck on a planet with only one of those just wouldn’t do.”

“Oh, sweetie,” she said, leaning on his shoulder as she looked back into the tunnel of brilliant lights, “thank you.  It’s incredible.”

“Ah, it was nothing, dear.  I mean, _literally_ nothing _,_ at this point.”  He gestured ahead.  “The lights keep going— gets a bit warm though, as you’ll recall.”

“I don’t mind,” she said, linking her arm through his as they continued down the stairs.

In the alcove the crystals were a bit calmer, illuminating the room but not fluctuating so dramatically.  The Doctor took off his rucksack and slipped out of his jacket.  He caught her eye as he unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his shirtsleeves.  River didn’t have any more layers to shed; at least, not unless they got a bit more comfortable first.

“Well then husband, what did you have in mind?”

“Patience, wife,” he said with a smile, opening his pack and beginning to pull out far more and larger items than should have been able to fit inside it.  First among them was a folding chair, which, once unfolded, turned out to be more of a folding chaise, just wide enough for two.

“Probably don’t want to sit on the floor,” he explained, glancing in the direction of the thin crack, glowing dimly orange, at the far side of the grotto.  The stone floor wasn’t nearly shoe-meltingly hot, but he was probably right that it would be a bit warm for comfort.  Next he tossed some cushions from the pack onto the chaise, pulled out a bottle of champagne and two flutes, and after them the entire picnic hamper.

“Got the kitchen sink too?”

“Didn’t think we’d want to do any washing-up on our anniversary.  Not very festive.”  

He stood and held out his hand to her, and River smiled as she took it.

The glowing amethyst and citrine reflected brilliantly in the Doctor’s hair as the lights softly brightened and dimmed, like the slow breathing of some great, incandescent creature.  It was no doubt very warm in the room, but River was perfectly comfortable reclining beside him, having removed her boots and tied up her hair earlier.  They ate and laughed and reminisced and toasted their glasses.  Which anniversary it was, at this point, was a bit of a mystery, with their timelines being as out of sync as they were, but that wasn’t important.

“Wish I could do it differently,” he said when the conversation reached a lull, staring off into the middle distance.

“Do what differently?” she asked, finishing off her glass of champagne and setting it on the ground.

“Our wedding.”

“Oh honey, we’ve talked about this.  I don’t hold anything against you, you know that.”

“Even so.  It’s the best thing I ever did, making you my wife.”  His eyes met hers again and River reached out to brush her hand over his cheek, her heart fluttering.   “But I made a pretty spectacular cock-up of it.”

“Tell me, then,” she said gently.  “What would you have done?”

“Could’ve started by not being an arsehole about it all.”

She smiled.  “And?”

“Told you I love you.  That I trust you— with everything.  That you turned my whole fucking world upside down.  All of time and space, everything I’ve seen, and then there was _you.”_  He laughed softly.  “I never expected this or looked for this or wanted this, and then you barged right into my life and I wanted it so much it hurt.  I wanted it to be us, together _._ ”

“And?” River choked out, her vision blurring as she held his face.

The Doctor smiled and raised her other hand to his lips.  “Could’ve asked you.”

“Go on, then,” she whispered.

He kissed her hand again.  “Marry me, River?”

“Yes,” she breathed, failing to blink back her tears.

“And then we’d tie our hands—” he stopped as River sniffed and reached into her pocket, producing the cravat from their first night at the towers.  His face glowing with a tender smile in the ethereal light, he took one end and wrapped it around his hand as she did the same.

“And then I’d tell you my name— really tell you,” he leaned in and whispered it, “and I’d tell you I had a plan, and it was going to be okay.”

The Doctor’s voice in her ear made her shiver, and she pulled back to look into his glittering eyes, searching, desperate for a sign of what she hoped and dared not hope he was saying.

“And the next part, hopefully I did get right.”

“Better refresh my memory,” she said, her voice still wavering with emotion.  His eyes drifted shut as they leaned in to each other.

She swore time stopped when they kissed like this: tender and deep and unhurried, luxuriating in the slow slide of their lips meeting again and again, in the soft heat of his mouth, his hand cradling her face.  How she’d ever not known she was so utterly and fiercely loved— but none of that mattered now.  Right now, everything was simply, perfectly right.


End file.
